on election day, the voters embraced the incumbent. obama knew what was going to happen. >> in the end, voters decided to stick with bobby rush by a huge, huge, huge margin. so it was a very bruising loss for him. >> narrator: obama lost by 30 points. >> it was the first time in his life where people didn't just really accept him immediately, where things didn't really go perfectly for him. >> narrator: the loss seemed like it might be the end of obama's political career. >> people who saw him afterward say he was as low as they've ever seen him. one person who was close to him said he got the sense that senator obama really wondered if he would be able to continue in politics. >> narrator: and it raised real problems with his wife michelle. >> the bobby rush race was the nadir of the obama marriage. her feeling was, "why are you doing this?" this is the moment when they want two totally different things. you know, barack obama wants political success, and his wife wants a normal life. i asked the president and first lady how long it h